It stuns me sometimes that air talents sound so completely disconnected from the music. (This happens A LOT with voice-tracking.)

So, think about this little little-known technique: if you match the pace of the song you’re talking over the intro of, or coming out of, or if you match the emotional vibe of the song – or hopefully, you do BOTH – it makes a statement. You’re immediately a part OF the music. We want to believe that you’re listening to the music, too.

Because, as my brilliant friend John Frost puts it, the core weakness of voice-tracking is that the jock just drops in from nowhere, is not connect (or invested) in the song at all, and it’s just a voice reading a liner or a boring, mechanical intro.

Something really cool happens when an entire air staff realizes this, and thinks about stuff like this. There are dozens of little ways to be more “present” than your competition.

Great radio is thrilling and organic and surprising and connected. But bad radio is just disappointing.

Could be you’ve never thought of this. Now’s the time to do it.